(On the cover: Deven Broadaway putts out on his way to a record-breaking round of golf.)

by Norm Miller

CLARKESVILLE, Ga. (TMCNews) -- Blustery winds couldn't break the calm focus of freshman golfer Deven Broadaway, who shot a 68 at The Orchard Golf & Country Club, April 2, and broke the Truett-McConnell College record by one stroke.

"For a college player at any level -- this is huge," said Mary Holmes, head golf coach for Truett-McConnell. "It's even more special for our school."

"What impressed me about Deven is how he handled himself," Holmes said. "You want all your players to execute at this level, but also to maintain the level of calmness that Deven showed today. He truly was focused."

Holmes told TMCNews that, in the team meeting before the shotgun start, she stressed for her players to focus on one thing: "... the next shot, and not anything else. That's what good players do. That's what professionals do," she said.

"Watching Deven was like watching a professional golfer," said a beaming Holmes. "I never doubted Deven could exceed my expectations, but today he did."

Broadaway's previous tourney record was 70.

"It felt good taking the game shot-by-shot," Broadaway told TMCNews in a post-round interview.

"I wasn't really worried about making birdies, but I did want to get on the green to have a shot at it," the business major said.

"I've really been working hard on my game lately, and it's paying off," Broadaway said.

With 309 strokes, Truett-McConnell's team is tied for second place with Emmanuel College. Teammate Nils Conway shares third place overall with several other players at 74 strokes. TMCers Nick Poss, Holden Shriver and Jamie Carr marked 83, 84 and 88 strokes, respectively.